99288. (1) Any assessee who
is entitled or required to attend before any income-tax authority or the
Appellate Tribunal in connection with any proceeding under this Act otherwise
than when required under section 131 to attend
personally for examination on oath or affirmation, may, subject to the other
provisions of this section, attend by an authorised representative.

1(2) For the purposes of this section,
“authorised representative” means a person authorised by the assessee in
writing to appear on his behalf, being—

(i)a person related to the assessee in any
manner, or a person regularly employed by the assessee; or

(ii)any officer of a Scheduled Bank with which
the assessee maintains a current account or has other regular dealings; or

(iii)any legal practitioner who is entitled to
practise in any civil court in India; or

(iv)an accountant; or

(v)any person who has passed any accountancy
examination recognised in this behalf by the Board2; or

(vi)any person who has acquired such educational
qualifications as the Board may prescribe3 for this purpose; or

4[(via)any
person who, before the coming into force of this Act in the Union territory of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa†, Daman and
Diu, or Pondicherry, attended before an income-tax authority in the said
territory on behalf of any assessee otherwise than in the capacity of an
employee or relative of that assessee; or]

(vii)any other person who, immediately before the
commencement of this Act, was an income-tax practitioner within the meaning of
clause (iv) of sub-section (2) of section 61 of the Indian Income-tax
Act, 1922 (11 of 1922), and was actually practising as such.

Explanation.—In this section, “accountant” means a 5chartered accountant within the meaning of the
Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949), and includes, in relation to any
State, any person who by virtue of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section
2266 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), is entitled to be appointed to
act as an auditor of companies registered in that State.

(a)who has been dismissed or removed from
Government service after the 1st day of April, 1938; or

(b)who has been convicted of an offence
connected with any income-tax proceeding or on whom a penalty has been imposed
under this Act, other than a penalty imposed on him under 8[clause (ii) of sub- section (1) of] section 271; or

(c)who has become an insolvent,

shall be qualified to represent an assessee
under sub-section (1), for all times in the case of a person referred to in
sub-clause (a)*, for such time as
the 9[Chief Commissioner or Commissioner] may by order determine in the case
of a person referred to in sub-clause (b)*,
and for the period during which the insolvency continues in the case of a
person referred to in sub-clause (c)*.

(5) If any person—

(a)who is a legal practitioner or an accountant
is found guilty of misconduct in his professional capacity by any authority
entitled to institute disciplinary proceedings against him, an order passed by
that authority shall have effect in relation to his right to attend before an
income-tax authority as it has in relation to his right to practise as a legal
practitioner or accountant, as the case may be;

10(b)who
is not a legal practitioner or an accountant, is found guilty of misconduct in
connection with any income-tax proceedings by the prescribed authority, the
prescribed authority11 may direct that he shall thenceforth be disqualified to represent an
assessee under sub-section (1).

(6) Any order or direction under clause (b)
of sub-section (4) or clause (b) of sub-section (5) shall be subject to
the following conditions, namely :—

(a)no such order or direction shall be made in
respect of any person unless he has been given a reasonable opportunity of
being heard;

(b)any person against whom any such order or
direction is made may, within one month of the making of the order or
direction, appeal to the Board to have the order or direction cancelled; and

(c)no such order or direction shall take effect
until the expiration of one month from the making thereof, or, where an appeal
has been preferred, until the disposal of the appeal.

(7) A person disqualified to represent an
assessee by virtue of the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 61 of the
Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 (11 of 1922), shall be disqualified to represent an
assessee under sub-section (1).